Artificial Chocolate
by Shippingsempai
Summary: Love Triangle. Slash. Avengers High School AU. Tony Stark is a new kid at Marvel Boarding School and he meets the football captain, Steve Rogers, and the school prankster, Loki Odinson.
1. An Heir

Loki:

"Brother! What is the meaning of this?!" Thor bellows, covered in red paint. Steve Rogers is standing next to him, with a noticeable lack of red and blue paint on his clothes. _Oh well_, Loki is glad that his prank was successful at least on his brother. He played a prank on the entire football team by breaking into their lockers and putting paint in it in a way so whoever opened it would be spattered with the paint of his choice. He put red and blue paint in Rogers' locker but apparently he dodged it in time. _How inconsiderate. I paid six dollars for those cans of paint._ The other team members are nowhere in sight (most likely because they'd spontaneously combust if they'd enter a non-mandatory math class) so he doesn't know if the prank worked on the others. Now that Loki thinks about it, the only reason Thor was in this class because of their father's insistence. Rogers is only here because he's stupidly determined when it comes to academics.

"The color suits you," Loki smugly says. The team is annoying him as of late due to their obnoxious teasing and exploits. Also, he was getting bored and pranks dispelled his boredom. The minute bell chimes which causes him to inwardly smile because Thor is going to have to go all day with paint covered clothes. Even though Principal Fury will probably call him in by 3rd period, it'll be worth it.

"Did you do this?" Rogers asks, slamming his palms on the desk. Loki frowns at the captain's anger.

"Contrary to popular opinion, my life doesn't revolve around my brother and his friends," he dryly responds. Rogers half looks like he's about to question Loki's morals and challenge him to a dual but he gets interrupted by a lazy, mocking voice.

* * *

Tony:

The guidance counselor, Phil Coulson, leads Tony to his first period class, which is Trigonometry. Public school is intriguing but he'll probably get sick of it within a week.

"This is your class Mr. Stark," the counselor says, gesturing to a brown door.

"Mr. Stark is my dad, call me Tony," he responds while rolling her eyes.

"Have a nice day Mr. Stark," he says, walking off.

"Whatever you say, Phil," he snaps and the counselor sighs a little bit before walking away. The thought of skipping school crosses his mind. This process moving schools is tiring and annoying.

He sighs.

His father would be furious if he skipped school. Any other time he would jump at the chance to make his father angry but Tony figures he'll just grit it through this time. He turns the knob to the door and thinks, _No time as cruel as the present. _He throws open the door in a normal, egocentric, Tony fashion. The beige classroom has no less than ten people in it and has mousy teacher wearing a lab coat standing in the front. Tony saunters up to the teacher and gets a closer look at him. The teacher looks young, probably a student teacher. The eyes behind the man's glasses are intently focused on the mess of papers on his equally messy desk. His shaggy hair forms a curtain over his one of his eyes. The tag on his collar says "Hank McCoy". Tony coughed to get the teacher's attention.

"O-oh, hello! You must be Anthony Stark," the teacher says. He gives Tony a wide, expecting smile but besides the teacher's, everyone's attention are focused on three boys, one covered in paint. Tony expected people to be focused on him but apparently not.

"It's not Anthony. It's Tony," he corrects the teacher absentmindedly.

"You can sit wherever you want, Tony. Most of the kids are in their seats, with an exception for Steve Rogers and Thor Odinson. They sit there," he points to the only table that remains totally unoccupied. He turns to Tony and says, "We will be reviewing inverse trigonometric functions. If you need help catching up then come and see me after class," he kindly says. Tony inwardly rolls his eyes. He is a prodigy in mathematics and engineering. He doesn't need tutoring. The teacher continues and says "You may refer to me as Doctor McCoy."

"Yeah, right. Who are they?" He asks, pointing at the trio. Two of the teens are wearing letterman jackets (though one is covered in red paint). He can't see their faces on account of their backs facing Tony but they didn't seem happy.

"Oh, their names are Loki and Thor Odinson and Steve Rogers. Thor is the one with red paint on him and Loki is the one sitting down."

"Is this a daily occurrence, confrontation I mean?" Tony asks. _They're brothers? The Odinson brothers, huh? _The apparent dynamic between brothers and company mildly piques his interest.

"Yes it is. Loki is very…troubled," he says hesitantly.

"Is that seat next to him free?"

"Yes….?"

"As it so happens I've always liked a bit of trouble in my life. Thanks Doc," he grins.

Steve:

"Wassup?" a lazy, cocky voice says from behind Steve. He's snaps out of mid-glare and looks toward the origin of the voice. The voice comes from a shorter boy but the boy gives off a commanding vibe. Some wisps of dark brown hair fall near his deep brown eyes and he has his hands stuffed his black, ripped jeans. He's entirely decked out in black and looks like he probably smokes on the steps in the back of the school. Though, the most peculiar thing about the new kid is the hum of a machine under his AC/DC shirt and his brown eyes that had a cold, calculating undertone to them.

"Am I interrupting something?" the boy says in a challenging way. The boy locks eyes with Loki and Loki, in turn, narrows his eyes. It looks like the boy is daring him to say that they're in the middle of something and Loki is calculating what to do about this bold move. Suddenly, Thor's brother closes his eyes in a temporary resignation and smirks.

"They were just leaving," he announces and, no less than two seconds later, the final bell rings.

"But what about my clothes?!" Thor pleads.

"Are you going to turn me in to McCoy?" Loki suggests.

"Dr. McCoy? I wouldn't do that to you!"

"Then sit down," he says with fake sweetness. Everyone is darting to their seats and the new kid sits in the seat next to Loki. Thor hesitantly resigns and sits at the table diagonal from them. Steve gives a glare to no one in general before following Thor and sitting next to him.

* * *

Loki:

"I'm Tony. And you are…?" The new kid, Tony, says with a curiously amused expression on his face. Loki can feel the attention of the class shift to their table. No one talks to Loki Odinson. He's like a dormant monster that everyone tip-toes around. Some people even refer to him as a god. He's so unused to people acknowledging his existence outside of being Thor's brother, school prankster, and being the son of the notorious Odin. Meaning, he's gotten negative attention all his life so now he's getting this neutral attention, it's unnerving.

"None of your business you incompetent twit," Loki spits out with particular disdain.

"That's such a coincidence! You have the same name as a person I met on the street. Actually, now that I think about it, you have the same name as a lot of people," he says with a knowing smile. Loki finds the corner of his mouth threatening a smile. He tries to ignore him and focuses on the valedictorian of the school, Jean Grey (a total brown nose whom he wasn't fond of), do a problem on the board. McCoy called her up to review some stuff they learned last year. He has a feeling that the answer she's getting isn't right but he doesn't speak up. Let the pawns follower their leader.

The new kid, Anthony, keeps poking him and tries to get his attention. He stops poking him and focuses on the same thing that Loki is focusing on, only to scoff.

"You're doing that wrong," Tony loudly states. Mummers of confusion stifle the air. This is an unnatural occurrence. Jean Grey is never wrong and no one called her out if she was.

"Huh? Wh-what do you mean?" she stutters, clearly thrown off by his declaration. Loki is also interested to see where this is going and quirks his eyebrow at Anthony.

"Since it's not specifically labeled as a right triangle, you can't use the sine or cosine functions. Even if you _could _use those functions, the calculation is off. The question specifically asked for the answer in degrees but you calculated for radian. I suggest you check the settings in your calculator," he says with a sloppy grin. She grabs for her calculator and madly punches in numbers.

"Yo-your right but how did you do that without a calculator?" she demands in an oddly out of character rude tone. Jean isn't exactly mean but she's used to things going her way.

"Sorry Red, but, everyone makes mistakes," he says in a way that implies that he's not sorry. The class was, to put it mildly, dumbfounded. No one corrected Jean Grey and then condescend to her. She was perfect and this idea was relatively accepted. Loki cranes his head toward the kid and smirks a little bit. He's genuinely impressed with this guy's boldness.

"Am I worthy of your name now?" he asks which makes Loki chuckle.

"I'm Loki but, if you want to learn the remainder of my name, you'll have to prove that you're not a _complete_ bumbling idiot."

"Now I'vegot something to strive for."

"You never told me _your_ last name," Loki observed out loud. The boy shakes his head with an easy smile that tells Loki he wasn't giving up his last name over his dead body. Whatever, not like he cared.

"Not yet sweetheart," he smirks while producing a piece of chocolate and popping it in his mouth, not paying attention to the valedictorian scrambling for the right answer.

* * *

Tony:

You have to be a different type of person to be able to pull off long hair. Instead of paying attention to the teacher, he sneaks glances at Loki out of the corner of his eye. His hair is raven black and in a sloppy ponytail and his bangs threaten escape. He's moderately tall and a few pounds away from being lanky. A green T-shirt hangs off his torso and his baggy jeans are ripped. He has this punk thing going on but it's ruined by his pale, smooth face that looks like it's about to break out in a smirk at any moment.

When he wasn't looking at Loks out of the corner of his eye, he's looking at the back of the head of the guy who was yelling earlier. He's diligently taking notes in his notebook like the determined bootlicker he probably is. Loki and brownnose in the letterman jacket are opposites in more ways than just their note taking habits (or in Loki's case lack thereof). Their appearances are totally different. The guy has blond, boy-next-door hair and a tan face. He's wearing a letterman jacket and looks like he'd run for student council president. Overall, he looks like your typical, nicely built, straight-white boy.

In other words: completely boring.

The school is turning out to be as boring as he feared. The bell stirs Tony out of thought. He wants to talk to Loki but on closer inspection he sees his table partner has already left. He sighs.

"May I have a minute?" the Boy Scout from earlier asks, jolting Tony out of thought. He quickly recovers though.

"For a tall, beautiful blond like you, I've got three," he flirts. _A guy like him oozes heterosexuality, so flirting with him will probably scare him off, _Tony thinks. Boy Scout frowns and slightly blushes. Tony fake frowns at him and marches out of the room.

"Wait! This is serious," he chastises and persistently follows Tony out of the class.

"I _am _being serious, boy scout. We just met and you're already acting like a nagging wife. But don't be getting all bossy. There's enough Tony to go around," he announces loudly which only makes Rogers' frown deepen.

"Let's start from the beginning. I'm Steve Rogers. You are….?"

"What's this all about?" he asks harshly. Rogers' façade falters and then gets serious.

"It's about Loki Odinson….." he tentatively says, looking as though he's having a difficult time putting the sentence in rosy terms.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, um, well…." Rogers' stuttering echo through the nearly empty hallway and Tony gets frustrated and sighs. The pristine hallway is peppered with people. Some of the girls give Rogers' an appreciatory wave or giggle (to which he dutifully responded with an eager smile) and continued thinking about what he's going to say.

"You should stay away from Loki. He's not a good guy," Rogers says with an earnest face. They're right outside of their second period class and the late bell reverberates through the halls.

"Tell me boy scout," Tony huffs "Why is he soooo bad?"

"You saw what he did to his brother! He does stuff like that all the time. He's one incident away from being suspended for a long time, maybe permanently. He's not a good person," Rogers says so innocently and all that Tony can think of his how the way he talks is so naïve it's cute. He thinks that the world is labeled has just bad and good. It makes Tony wonder if this guy had ever strayed from what's expected of him. Now, he wanted nothing more than to make him squirm.

"All this talk of bad and good is making me sick. Now tell me, boy scout, have you ever been attracted to someone you shouldn't be?" He smirks and turns toward Rogers who stops a few feet from him with an alarmed look on his face.

"Wh-what do you mean? What does that have to do-"

"Have you ever been attracted to a guy? Have you ever, I daresay, kissed a guy?" Tony says with a smirk.

"I'm not gay!" Steve exclaims loudly.

"Did I ask you if you were gay? I asked you if you've ever been attracted to or kissed a guy, and I do not recollect asking you about your sexuality," he says, cocking his head and deepening his smirk.

"Isn't that the same thing?!"

"You have a lot to learn, Boy Scout. First lesson: most things in this world cannot be defined as purely evil or purely good. Second lesson," he approaches Steve and grabs his shirt collar, pulling him down for a kiss. Rogers' lips are unmoving and puckered like he ate something sour. The kiss wasn't nice by any means but Tony only did it to prove his point. He releases a surprised and rigid Steve and then says, "Second lesson: you don't have to be gay to be attracted to a man. There are lots of colors of the rainbow and I suggest you learn them." He approaches his second period door and before he reaches for the handle he looks back at Steve who's in a dazed state.

"You can put that kiss on a resume to a college."

"Wh-what are y-you talking about?" Steve asks with a red face.

"You can put it that you kissed an heir. My name is Tony Stark, inheritor of Stark Industries and the Stark fortune. Nice to meet you boy scout," he says with a grin and plunges into class.

* * *

Loki:

"May I sit here Loks?"

"I do not have it in my power to dissuade you do I?" Loki quips back.

"No not really," he smiles while sitting down across from Loki which causes him to slightly frown at the new kid's insistence. He's managed to sit next to Loki in every class they've been in together and was starting to puzzle and annoy him.

"My birth name is Loki. It's not Loks, sweetheart, or anything else that is not my given name," he scolds.

"Geez, it's only been an hour or two after I met you I don't think we're close enough to be on a first name basis!" Tony mockingly exclaims.

"But apparently close enough to assign me a nickname. And, being on a first name basis isn't much of an accomplishment for you do not know my last name."

"First with the no nicknames and then with the no last name, you're breaking my heart here!" Tony starts poking at his food with a poorly concealed disgusted look. Loki looks down at his own food with a disinterested look. As much as he didn't want to admit it he was interested in the boy and was unused to having company. He wasn't sure how to deal with it. Loki directs his gaze toward Tony. The way he's holding himself reminds Loki of a rich boy set loose. He knows that look that very well. That gives him an idea. _Rich boy huh?_ The hum of the machine under his AC/DC shirt gives Loki an idea to who he is because he can only think of one company that could make a machine like that.

"Anthony Stark," he blurts.

"Yeah?"

"So I'm assuming that you're the heir to Stark Industries and millions if not billions of dollars?"

"That would be a correct assumption," Anthony says with a cautious look. Loki chuckles and gives a low whistle.

"Do you want a red, velvet carpet and caviar, trust fund baby?"

"Nah, I don't like fish eggs and velvet gives me hives. Besides, I only like red coupled with yellow because it complements my eyes," he says with a glint in his eye. _This trust fund baby sure is tiring, _Loki thinks. Stark pauses and then asks "What's your last name?"

"My, you've just met me and you want to know my secrets!"

"Who are you that your last name is a secret?"

"It depends how you treat me. I could be a docile monster, your worst nightmare, or a complete stranger."

"Is 'wonderful dream' on that list?"

"Does that line ever work?"

"More so than one would think," Stark says with a victorious smile. Their banter makes Loki internally smile.

"You're different from the other twits in this school," he observes.

"But I'm still a twit?"

"Yes."

"So I'm a different type of twit? Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Of the highest."

"Well! Tickle me pink!" Stark sarcastically exclaims.

"You're different because I get this feeling that you're actually smart but because of your status as a billionaire your intelligence is plagued with a sense of entitlement."

"You know, I like to imagine, just for a second, that my talents and personality do not have anything to do with my father. But I can only have that dream for a mere second because of sticks in mud like you so it is but a pipe dream," his playful demeanor is replaced by a serious face "I forgot to mention but please don't tell anyone I'm inheriting billions and a successful company 'kay?"

"Billions of dollars!" Loki says, impressed. Stark doesn't change his serious facial expression. "Why should I not tell anyone?"

"Because, it's the decent thing to do," Stark says while violently prodding at his food but gives up and pops a piece of white chocolate into his mouth, a different brand than he ate this morning. He wouldn't make eye –contact with Loki. _Oh great. I've already made him angry. This is why I don't have any friends. Whatever._

* * *

Author's Note: Thank's for reading (or scrolling down to the bottom). Please leaving comments, questions, concerns, pleas never to write again, etc. ;)


	2. A Note, A Partner, and A Heap

Loki:

With the slam of Loki's door to his room, a relieved sigh is drawn from his chest. He slightly wobbles over to his bed and plops down with a huff. Thor is (unfortunately) his roommate but he isn't here on account of football practice so it allows for Loki to bask in quiet. Having a "friend" is exhausting and he's probably talked more today than he would have in an entire week. He's not sure how he feels about the young Stark though. His antics are mildly interesting and there seems to be more with him than meets the eye. If Loki does keep him around it probably will only be until the mystery has run out.

He rolls the idea of befriending Stark when an envelope is slipped under the door. He darts up and sits completely still for a few seconds. Cautiously eying the paper, he slowly snatches it off of the dark, wood floor. He promptly inspects the outside of envelope. Finally, when he deems it safe, he unseals it. The content of the letter is a typed story it seems. No intro, no explanation, nothing besides the story is inside. He glossed over it but it just looks like a nonsense story to him.

Loki scoffs and throws the paper across the room.

If they think that they can compel Loki to do their bidding then they are delusional. He returns to his previous spot on his bed and, just as he was getting comfortable, his phone starts to ring. He frowns and lets it go to voice mail. He starts to relax again but the phone starts to ring again. He angrily answers it and says, "Whomever you think you are I will not take part in your childish escapades so you can go away!" This outburst is met with silence for a while until the person over the line says, "If I did have escapades they would not be childish."

Great.

"What do you want Stark and how did you get my number?" He says, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I'm more interested in your rude greeting just now. Who did you think I was that warranted such a tantrum?"

"I don't care what you're interested in, how did you get my number?"

"Pickpocketed you and took your number."

"You make it sound so easy."

"That's because, dear, it was. Now that I've answered your question, answer mine. Who did you think I was when I called?"

"You never answered _my _question of why you are calling me and besides, it's none of your business."

"Whatever. You're not in any trouble are you? I ain't about that life."

_You have no idea. _

"No."

"Just tell me, it's tiring trying to guess," Stark whines. Loki weighs his options and, since he's not taking the note too seriously, he decides to tell him. That's what "friends" do right?

"A letter was slipped under my door," he huffed "It appears to be some kind of code."

"Are you going to decode it?"

"No, I am not their trained monkey." Just as Loki finished talking, a sigh that sounds like it's accompanied by an eye roll erupts through the speaker.

"Just because you decode it doesn't mean you have to follow the instructions. I'll come over Friday to help you decode it."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, is that okay? I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Loki can practically see the smirk on his face and he wants to tell him he's busy but he says, on instinct, "No. I suppose that's fine."

"See you tomorrow."

_What am I getting myself into?_

* * *

Tony:

Tony's face is assaulted by the early fall wind as he hangs up his phone. Loki sure is an unconventionally funny guy.

The leaves have changed but haven't fallen which gives the outside an ethereal look. It hasn't gotten cold yet so his short-sleeved shirt is perfect. Students are dispersing at a rate that shouldn't even be possible. Most are heading toward the dorms and Tony would be too if he had moved in yet. He finishes packing tonight. He lounges on a bench and waits for the parking lot to unclog before he goes out for his own car. Just as his driver instructed, Tony's red and yellow Ferrari sits in the parking space nearest to the door. He jumps in and inserts his key in the ignition. As he's pulling out of the lot he thinks about his conversation with Loki and all the past events today. Tony has been more contemplative than he'd care to admit but he always feels the need to analyze things that happen to him. Force of habit he supposes.

It'll be cool for him to decode something and it'll be challenging. He turns the corner and switches his thoughts to Loki. He thinks Loki is attractive both intellectually and physically but he's not sure about him. He really wasn't joking when he told him that he didn't want to get into anything nasty (i.e. gang related). But, even still, he knows, deep down, that Loki Odinson is neck-deep in some sort of trouble. He's planning to take the saying "ignorance is bliss" to heart in this situation.

His car rolls up to his father's estate and he leans over the open window to let the security system scan his retinas. The imposing gates open and he drives toward the modern mansions he's been forced to call home most of his life. He pulls out in front of the door and leaves his car out to be taken by their driver. He quickly opens the door and darts toward his basement/lab.

"Welcome sir," his AI, Jarvis, greets when he finishes his descent down the cool, metal stairs.

"Is the big man home?"

"No, Mr. Stark is not home."

_Good. _Dummy rolls up to him and takes his bag and jacket but his attempt to roll away is thwarted by a wall. He sighs and crosses a couple of wires and fixes the problem. Dummy whirs away.

He probably should being doing his work that was assigned at school but it seems tedious and irrelevant to his future. His sociology teacher even gave Tony a project to do. He said he'd send someone over to his house be his partner despite Tony's objections. The doorbell resonates through the house. _Speaking of. _

He doesn't have to worry about his father's curiosity so he lazily strolls to the door. His mind drifts and thinks of Steve Rogers. He probably has a nice home with nice parent to go home to. He probably doesn't have to worry. Tony's indifferent attitude toward him starts to grow resentful. When he reaches the door he punches number in the panel to display his new partner for the project.

Just his luck, it's Steve Rogers.

* * *

Steve:

"Brother Steve, why so glum?" Thor asks.

Steve stiffens and averts his eyes. They've finished practice and are walking through the school hallways, heading toward the dorms. What happened with the new kid Tony distracted him the entire day. He kissed another boy. No! A boy kissed him so technically he didn't kiss him.

"You are beginning to worry me," Thor states, placing a hand on Steve's shoulder. He's been such a good friend and he supposes he could divulge a little information.

"Well, you see, there's this kid, a boy, and he likes other boys," Steve stutters out.

"Yes?"

"What should I do?"

"I do not understand the dilemma."

"I just don't know how to handle it…"

"Just treat him like a normal person because that's what he is. I imagine if Loki or one of my friends was of different sexuality they'd not want to be treated differently," Thor reasons with a look that says "isn't this common sense?" and he continues by saying, "It's bad enough that they can't love who they love in public but it would make it worse if the people who were on their 'side' treated them like a freak."

"I never thought of that. Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks buddy."

"Anytime friend."

_So I should be normal friends with him? Even though he was childish and_ _kissed me, I should be the better man. Yeah! I should get to know him more. _

A cluster of baseball players walk down the hallway. Something is peculiar about them and it stirs Steve out of his thoughts. He's never seen them before.

"Hey Thor, isn't something weird about those-?" he stops talking at the sight of Thor in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. He looks around but no one is around. The players disappeared without a trace.

* * *

The ambulance drives off with a delirious Thor in tow. They couldn't get any information out of his because of his physical state. It couldn't have been an accident. Thor isn't the type to just accidentally fall down the stairs. He tried telling Mr. Fury, the school's principal, that but he was convinced it was simply an accident.

"Sorry Rogers but Thor won't be able to go to school until the second semester," Mr. Fury says, standing in front of the school entrance.

"Are you sure?"

"Boy, he's broken each one of his limbs and you want him to go to school?"

"But what about my big sociology project? Thor was my partner and it's too big of a project to do alone!" Steve grimly says.

"It's nice to see kids concerned about their grades. If I'm not mistaken a new kid just transferred into that class. I'm sure Mr. Xavier will let you partner up. Go to his room and ask if you're so concerned," his assistant walks up right next to Mr. Fury and jabs his pointer finger at his watch, signaling a previous appointment. "I've got to run kid; hopefully I don't see you anytime soon."

Steve starts walking toward the Mr. Xavier's room and his arrives quickly since his room is close to the entrance. His teacher is actually a professor and he just got out of college. He's a genius and no more than 21 years old. He has full, dark brown hair and smiling blue eyes.

"Hello, Mr. Rogers, how's today faring you?"

"Not well. Thor got hurt and won't be back for a while so that means I've got to get a new partner for that project," Steve's eyes won't meet Mr. Xavier's as he says "Mr. Fury said I should partner up with the Stark kid."

"I think that's a great idea! I'll give you his address so you can go plan with him," he says, writing on a piece of paper "Good luck!"

He walks toward his car to drive to Stark's mansion. As he gets in he thinks, _Thanks because I'm going to need it._

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Sorry it wasn't longer and better ;0; Schools out so from now on chapters will be longer and more frequent. :) I'd really appreciate reviews voicing compliments, thoughts, ideas, concerns, etc.


	3. Your People

Tony:

Oh lord. How can he, Tony Stark, a devastatingly handsome young man, have the worst luck humanly possible?

"Uh, I'm looking for Tony Stark?" Steve questions the security device.

"Speaking. You're my partner for the sociology project aren't you?" he says, barely keeping a sigh out of his voice.

"Yeah."

Tony can't take it anymore and sighs. Finally he says, "Come on in." The gate opens and Rogers' car drives up to the front door. Tony stands on their extravagant porch as Rogers gets out of the car and marvels at his house.

"What are you doing here?" Tony asks after 30 seconds of silence.

"I'm your partner for the sociology project," Steve says like he's talking to a toddler, which causes the almost 17 year old genius to roll his eyes.

"Yeah but I thought Loki's brother, that Thor guy, was your partner?"

"He…well….there was, um...an accident of sorts."

Tony's eyebrows soar upwards in interest and says, "Oh, yeah? Who did it?" Steve has a slightly startled expression when Tony asks this.

"What makes you think it wasn't an accident?"

"It may just be me but I don't think Thor is the type of guy to get into accidents," he answers, noticing Rogers' face of confirmation.

"Yeah! I was with him and I thought it was strange too. We weren't anywhere close to falling down the stairs one second but the other second he was at the bottom of the stairs, moaning. And there were suspicious people in the hallway! They looked like baseball players" Rogers says conspiratorially.

Tony would pursue this topic but he doesn't want to seem too eager to know. Instead he says, "Come on. Let's talk about this project." He steps into his house with Rogers closely following him. He tells him to take his shoes off and turns toward him to meet his eyes. This kid looks completely awkward and out of place with his ratty, brown jacket and the uncomfortable look in his eyes. But, that might not be because of Tony's house. Straight boys generally are uncomfortable when another boy kisses them.

"Do you want something?" Tony briskly asks.

"No thank you."

"Then let's get to work." He leads Rogers down to the basement so he can be in a safe environment.

"This is amazing!" Rogers says with a look of awe plastered on his face again.

"Sir, you are aware you have a visitor?" Jarvis booms.

"Turn it down buddy," Tony commands "Jarvis this is Steve Rogers but you can call him Boy Scout. Rogers this is Jarvis, an AI I created myself."

"Nice to meet you Jarvis," he responds, looking up at the ceiling.

"As to you, young sir. If you'll no longer need my services, I'm going to shut down." Tony waves to signal for Jarvis to shut down.

"About this project…?" Tony says, trying to get Rogers' attention.

"Oh, yeah!" He starts to shift through his book bag while saying, "By the way, I'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot today, Stark. It's just Loki has always been trouble and I don't want you getting mixed up with him. Here's the rubric for the project." He hands it to Tony. In return, Tony scoffs and snatches the paper away and starts to read it.

"Do your parents know that you built an AI? It's amazing!" Tony tenses but tries to play it off.

"No, they do not. So we have to pick a topic off this paper and make a presentation on it?"

"Yes."

"If you're really sorry for being a nosy jerk then we're doing this," he shoves the paper in his face with his finger on the topic "the topic I want to do our project on is 'Racism and Inequality in America'"

"But, this is America; there is no racism or inequality," Rogers says with a confused, bunched up face.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," Tony says, shaking his head.

"Do you think that because of the discrimination that your people experienced in the past?"

Tony, for once in his life, was speechless. All he could do was look up in a stunned silence. _He means gays right? Oh lord. _

"It would take me approximately a week to list all the things wrong with that sentence. But I'll try to cut it down. A) I'm not gay and even if I were, they wouldn't be 'my people' because that's an insensitive thing to say and B) America is experiencing inequality now as evident from your stupid comment."

"But if you're not gay then what are you?"

"A human."

"I mean sexuality-wise." This draws yet another sigh out of Tony.

"I suppose, if you're really insistent about putting labels on it, then I suppose I'm a pansexual."

"What does that mean?"

"Look it up Boy Scout. So it's decided, we're doing this topic."

"Uh, okay?"

"Now I've got to finish packing and your narrow mindedness is giving me a headache so scram," Tony says, waving him away.

* * *

"I think that's everything," Tony says as he packs up the last box. He's doing incredibly well on time. Besides his decked out lab there's nothing in this house that holds an incredible importance to him. To finish off the packing, he downloads Jarvis into his phone so his dad doesn't find it (and also he gets lonely and Jarvis is welcomed company).

He hasn't gotten the day's strange incidents out of his head yet; from Loki's summoning to Thor's not so accidental accident, the school seems to have secrets lurking at every corner. It's more interesting than he anticipated.

Speaking of, he should visit Loki to talk to him. They agreed to meet tomorrow but he needs to talk to him now. He runs up the stairs, out the door, and into his car to drive off.

When he finally gets to the dorms, visitor hours have ended. He pulled out his phone and calls Loki.

* * *

Loki:

As much as Loki doesn't want to admit it, he's worried about Thor. He's usually back by now. Loki tries to calm himself down but isn't all that successful. His phone rings and a voice that announces him that an idiot is calling him (he set Stark's ringtone so he knows when he's calling).

"What do you want?"

"Open your window," Stark's voice commands. He sighs and opens the window because he knows he'll just bug him if he doesn't. He looks out and sees Stark standing outside

"What are you doing?"

"I need to talk to you. In person."

"Uh, okay?" he looks around and says, "Climb up that tree and hoist yourself up. Oh and, if you fall two stories and break your neck I know nothing."

"You treat me so kindly," Tony says right before he hangs up. He claws his way up the tree and rests for a second before bravely jumping into Loki's open window. To be honest, Loki didn't think he'd actually go through with it so he scrambled to catch and pull Tony through the window. So, due to Loki's unpreparedness, they end upon the floor, nose-to-nose. Tony's outstretched arms are the only reason they're not in the middle of a strange kiss.

"Hey, what's up?" Tony asks with a boyish smile, looking straight into his eyes. Loki stiffly sighs but doesn't take his eyes off Tony.

"So what did you come here for?"

"Down to business huh?" he asks, moving off of Loki and to a sitting position. Loki gets up as well and sits next to him on the floor as he waits for him to continue. Stark seems to be struggling putting whatever he wants to say into a competent sentence until he finally finds the right words and says, "Thor got into an accident." He beat of confusion morphs into a string of realization. Loki can feel himself pale and he turns away.

"Whatever, I'm sure he's fine," Loki forces himself to say.

"Okaay? Terrible brotherness aside, I think it has something to do with that letter you received."

"Just forget about it."

"But don't you want to know? It's your brother."

"Don't get involved. It's fine," he says through gritted teeth.

"Loki, what's going on? Does it have anything to do with your family?"

Loki's heart skips a beat but he tries to conceal it and says, "Nothing you need to concern yourself over. Anything else you need from me?"

"Besides your undying love? No. But, now that I'm here, I kinda want to stay."

"Why is that?"

"Partly because I don't want to climb down that tree again and partly because I'm longing for intelligent conversation 'cause I met Steve Rogers today."

"Hmm," Loki grabs a magazine and rests on his back on his bed. He's happy Stark is distracting him for the time being. As he flips through the magazine he observes, saying, "Though Rogers isn't a prodigy, he's not incredibly stupid."

"Well it may have something to do with the fact that I kissed him," Stark braggingly says. Loki makes a unflattering, surprised, snort-like laugh.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. He was being really irritating and he seemed like the type to freak out about anything that could be possibly labeled as gay."

"Nice."

"Teenage boys are frighteningly stupid people."

"Indeed," Loki says with a smile. They bantered for half the night until Tony left. Despite the good feeling of laughter, the situation with Thor is nagging at him. He wonders if it has to do with…

* * *

Steve:

Steve is sitting in the library, waiting for Tony. He researched the term 'pansexual'.

_Pansexual. adjective. Sexual attraction to people of all sexual identities (transgender, men, women, etc)_

"What's up Boy Scout?"

"So, about this project…"

"I don't want to talk about that," Tony says, leaning close to Steve.

"Uh, what _do_ you want to talk about?" he answers with a slightly trembling voice. He's afraid that Tony will kiss him again.

"I want to talk about Thor and Loki."

"Oh," he looks away and says, "What do you want to know?" He feels a little disappointment but reminds himself that it's better than Tony kissing him.

"What are those two involved with?"

"Uh, I can't tell you," he says quickly "So about this project," he says, trying to change the subject.

"No, tell me. I know their last name is Odinson and it sounds familiarly infamous but I can't seem to remember it."

"I can't tell you. Stop being nosy and focus on the project."

"Sorry, my people are known for being nosy," Tony says bitterly.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said. You're the first person I've met who was….."

"A real life faggot?" Tony spits out.

"No, stop putting words into my mouth!" Steve is starting to get really flustered.

"Whatever," Tony says, gathering his stuff. Before he's out the door he says, "Don't worry about the project, I'll handle it." Then he's gone.

_That did not go as well as I had wanted._

* * *

**A Week Later**

Tony:

"Thanks for helping me move into the dorms Loks."

"I thought you were moving into the dorms right after you came to this deathtrap of a school?"

"Plans change. I had stuff to do," Tony huffs as he puts down the last box. Dust and dirt is splattered across both of their faces and clothes. Loki is wearing a battered, white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and ratty jeans. He takes his hair out of its pony tail and ruffles his hair. _And he wonders why he's so popular with girls and boys. That boy, _Tony thinks.

"So you don't have a roommate?"

"No, I do not."

"Stupid, lucky, rich boy. Get me a drink."

"As you wish," Tony says, curtsying. He digs in the mini-fridge and pulls out a water bottle and throws it to Loki.

"Thanks, and, nice Princess Bride reference," Loki compliments.

"Do I get some cool points?"

"Not all the leather jackets and dark shades in the world can make you cool," Loki says, slightly out of breath from the strenuous lifting he's been doing. Tony lowers himself onto the floor to sit next to Loki so that they're shoulder to shoulder. Over the past week, Loki has gotten used to him so he doesn't even flinch when they touch (though for the longest time he'd freak out). Tony hasn't told Loki that he's pansexual but, even without this information, Loki treats him as dry and coldly as he would've otherwise. They have yet to have the dreaded sexuality 'talk' and Tony is waiting for it, but, until then, he's going to enjoy this stress free, uncomplicated friendship while it lasts.

"Thanks again for helping me out," he says again. Loki gives him a sidelong look while he's taking a swig of his water.

"Acts of appreciation don't really do it for you," Loki observes.

"What do you mean?"

"I think you'd be more attractive sticking to your arrogant façade."

"I think I could same about you. Acts of kindness are unusual for you and give away your true self."

"You're right; I have to keep that in mind next time your vaulting through my window about to break your neck," he says and leans his head back to a resting position on the bed. He harshly exhales and closes his eyes. A peaceful feeling settles in the room and it makes Tony think of why, even after a week, Loki isn't panicking about his brother. To Tony's knowledge, he hasn't even gone to visit him in the hospital.

"So how's your brother doing?" he dares to ask.

Loki shakes his head and asks, "How's the project going?", clearly changing the subject.

He lets that line of conversation go and says, "I haven't really had a conversation with Rogers in a week and I haven't gotten started on it yet. So, not good. I need to talk to Mr. X about it." Silence floats between them until Loki finally says, "Come on, I'm going outside." He says this and tugs on Tony's shirt.

"So needy," Tony playfully remarks. Only when their out the door and on the way outside does Tony realizes that Loki acknowledged him as someone that has some level of attractiveness. This makes him think that Loki may have more closeted secrets than he originally thought. When they reach the glass doors to the outside they see a pack of baseball players in a dense cluster right outside before he blacks out.

* * *

Author's Note: So for this story, since it's a love triangle, I'm going to make 2 alternate endings. A FrostIron ending and a Stony ending. That way everyone's happy :) Please give me feedback, concern, compliments, etc. because it's appreciated. Thanks for reading!


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